Michelangelo
Michelangelo is a lover of video games, skateboarding, pranks and pizza. He wears an orange mask and fights with two nunchaku which convert into kusarigama via a blade inside of one of the sticks of each nunchaku and extra lengths of chain stored in the other. Despite possessing a childlike innocence, he always brings his best game to a fight. Mikey is in charge of navigating the Shellraiser. 2003 animated series In the 2003 TV series, Michelangelo is voiced by Wayne Grayson. Known as 'Mikey' to his brothers, his personality is more akin to the Mirage comics than the 1987 show. Still the comic relief, he often makes statements that spoof pop culture, although he uses less surfer slang than in the 1987 cartoon. His trademark nunchucks are once again his primary weapons, but he has used other weapons such as grappling hooks and those of his brothers. He is slightly more immature than in the Mirage comics-particularly apparent by a high-pitched scream. Unlike other incarnations, he was often more reluctant to fight and he likes to tease and annoy his older brothers, especially Raphael, for whom Michelangelo is the foil. In fact, a running gag is that whenever Michelangelo says or does something excessively outrageous and stupid, usually involving a catch-phrase from the 1987 show, one of his brothers (usually Raphael) will slap him on the head. Other characters such as Master Splinter and the Ancient One have picked up on this habit but usually whenever he disobeys. In the Fast Forward episode Time is Everything, when Michelangelo was talking too much, Splinter flipped over his seat he was sitting on causing him to fall on the ground, replying afterwards that "Somebody had to do it. It was… time." Raphael and Michelangelo mostly have a love-hate relationship in which Michelangelo frequently antagonizes Raphael (it especially hurts Raphael's pride that Michelangelo has bested him more than once, both times because Raphael's anger got in the way), but Raphael shows that he cares about him whenever he's in danger. He also seems to be very close with Donatello, where the two are often paired together when Leonardo and Raphael are either arguing or training. Also, Mikey is often the one most enthusiastic about Donatello's newest finished invention, and would jump straight into "helping" Don with his first test run on it, though his "help" is not greatly appreciated by the latter and often generates more trouble. Donatello has also invented a hovercraft- a flying skateboard, at one point of time in Season 2 as means of keeping him quiet while Donatello himself worked. When Mikey was a kid, he and his brothers went with Master Splinter to Japan to bury Master Yoshi's ashes next to his beloved. While there they helped Master Splinter and the Ancient One win a fight against a ghost that was sent by the Foot Mystics to revive the Demon Shredder and that is when they gain their ninja masks. This happens in the episode (Fathers and Sons). Michelangelo is also appointed to be "the one with the brightest fire" or with the most potential by The Ancient One. Master Splinter also claims a few times that Michelangelo obtains the most "raw talent" of all the brothers. Although, both Master Splinter and The Ancient One, say because of Michelangelo's lack of focus and interest in training, he will probably never meet his full potential. Michelangelo also claims many times in this series that he wishes not to be so serious and focused like his eldest brother, Leonardo. He also tells his other brothers to "chillax" and not be so serious all the time. His agility and speed also play a bigger role than in the comics or other TV series and movies. It is shown in activities such as training runs, fights, and training, that Michelangelo clearly is the fastest of the four, in which is brothers are constantly having to catch up with him. It also plays a role in the 1st season when Michelangelo and Raphael are fighting, that Michelangelo keeps taunting Raphael, but because of his speed, Raphael cannot tackle him. This is shown more than once. His speed was the main reason he won The Battle Nexus, along with his ability to "get under people's skin" and taunt them. He is also portrayed as the best gymnast of the four. This is true partly because Master Splinter always sends him off to do backflips or extra training as punishment for goofing off or losing focus. Both of these abilities allow Michelangelo to taunt his opponents and beat them quickly without getting hurt by his opponent in the process. Michelangelo is regularly treated as the youngest brother and little is expected of him. However, he has shown innocent empathy for others as shown in particular by his adoption of Klunk the stray kitten, to whom he is very close and also by his relationship with Leatherhead. It is his initial awareness of Leatherhead's humanity which ends up forging the bond between the crocodile and the other Turtles. He enjoys Leatherhead's company, although he can tease him on occasion against his better judgment. However, he cares greatly for the crocodile and is quick and willing to forgive and reassure him when a rampaging Leatherhead injures him in a blind, nightmarish rage in the episode 'Hunted.' Leatherhead also appears to care greatly for Michelangelo and is distraught when he believes he has fatally injured him, but delighted to discover that his fears are unfounded when he finds out that the turtle is alive and well. As in the Mirage comics, Michelangelo is an avid fan of comic book superheroes. In some episodes, he takes on the role of a costumed super hero called "Turtle Titan" and befriends other superheroes such as the "Silver Sentry" and the "Justice Force". As Turtle Titan, Michelangelo uses grappling hooks as both a weapon and a mode of transportation. Although not shown as particularly focused on ninjutsu, preferring to spend his time reading comics or watching movies, he is quite an effective fighter and in the Season 2 finale, he became the Battle Nexus Champion, considered the best fighter in the multiverse. Although his victory was due in part to several very lucky breaks (with Raphael even referring to it as "sheer dumb luck, emphasis on the 'dumb' part), Michelangelo later won a rematch against the last finalist and earned a medal of honor for his behavior during the battle, with his ninjutsu prowess being spurred when the opponent revealed that he intended to kill Raphael, Leonardo and Donatello as well after killing Michelangelo in battle, prompting the latter to recall Leonardo's words on how if one of them went down, then all of them would go down as well. In the crossover movie Turtles Forever, Mikey is the only Turtle who initially likes their comedic 1987 counterparts (he is especially fascinated by the initials on their belt buckles). However, he eventually gets tired of their laid-back attitudes and yells at them when they don't take the 2003 incarnation of Shredder seriously, proving even this version of Mikey has his limits to fooling around. In early profiles of the 2003 animated series, Michelangelo is regarded as being both the most athletic of the four, and as possessing the single greatest potential in the martial arts out of the quartet, although unfocused on training mentally (though those are admittedly old profiles and may have been early plans for the character, he has certainly proven he is an effective fighter when need be) which prevents him from reaching his fullest potential. This profile statement has since been repeated in the profile of Michelangelo in the lead-up to the debut of the Fast Forward season which began airing on July 29, 2006. 2012 animated series In the new 2012 series, Michelangelo uses both a kusarigama and nunchucks. His character design was updated as well, making him slightly shorter than his brothers and giving him dark freckles as well as shorter tails on his mask. Mikey is voiced by Greg Cipes.[5] Mikey is once again portrayed as the younger brother and is prone to goofing off rather that focusing on his training. However he is still an impressive fighter. His natural affinity for the martial arts is present with his ability to learn moves after seeing it only a few times. He also has the ability to fight without "thinking", once deflecting Splinter's blows while listening to music with his eyes closed, which was something that Donatello had to learn (Although he was unable to do this when directly asked to fight without thinking in their first fight with the telepathic Victor Falco). Mikey seems to respect his oldest brother Leonardo and although there are few scenes with them interacting together, it's clear that Leonardo cares about his little brother. Raphael is normally seen as the one Mikey loves to play with, usually at Raph's expense. Although Raph repeatedly gives Mikey a beat down for his antics he occasionally shows a more sensitive side when Mikey is feeling down. Of all the brothers, Mikey seems to be the closest to Donatello. This probably stems from the fact that although they are very different they both share a curiosity about things outside ninjitsu. Mikey greatly admires Donnie's new gadgets and is normally the first to test them out. Mikey additionally enjoys creating names for all the villains in the series, naming ones like "Dogpound" and "Fishface". He even is upset with Donnie when Donnie decides a name before Mikey gets the chance. Although Mikey isn't the fastest of mind and has a tendency to make mistakes, it's very clear that all of his brothers care very deeply for him. They all show great distress when he gets hurt or is in trouble, and anger at the one who threatens him, i.e. when Baxter Stockman is throwing Mikey around like a sack of potatoes when he is in his more advanced armor. Master Splinter has yet to reveal what it is Michelangelo must improve on other than a need to focus. In the First Nickelodeon TMNT Comic Master Splinter tells how Mikey has more raw talent than his three brothers combined. Later in an episode saying that Mikey has his "challenges" too. Unlike past incarnations, Mikey does not say his famous "Cowabunga" catchphrase, but instead says "booyakasha." Michaelangelo-1.jpg|Michaelangelo 2012 version Michaelangelo-2.jpg|Michaelangelo 2012 version Michaelangelo-3.jpg|Michaelangelo 2012 version Michaelangelo-4.jpg|Michaelangelo 2012 version Michaelangelo-5.jpg|Michaelangelo 2012 version Category:Characters